Decision : 32 COM 7B.31
Iguazu National Park (Argentina) (N 303)

3. Notes that the Outstanding Universal Value of the property is present though degraded, but also notes with serious concern the various specific threats which the property currently faces in particular threats due to biodiversity and visual impacts;

4. Notes with satisfaction the rejection of the hot air balloon concession;

5. Urges the State Party, in coordination with the State Party of Brazil, to implement the following recommendations of the 2008 World Heritage Centre / IUCN monitoring mission in order to the strengthen the management and protect the biodiversity values of the property:

a) create a permanent and effective mechanism for transboundary co-operation, in particular for research, resource protection, and public use oriented to the appreciation of the Outstanding Universal Value of the property;

b) continue joint efforts with the State Party of Brazil toward a coordinated revision of the management plans for the two adjacent properties, including development of shared indicators and standards for minimising visitor impacts, and establishing acceptable limits of change for biological and aesthetic values, including visual and audio impacts for all tourism and public use activities and associated infrastructure;

c) carry out a study of the short-term oscillation of water levels in the Iguazú River and Falls to quantify biological and visual impacts, and develop a monitoring process to track change and regularly inform decision-making;

d) carry out a study of the economic benefits of tourism to the local economies and an inventory of those local attractions that could aid in diverting visitation away from the Falls area and that would contribute to building local constituencies;

e) remove as soon as possible the unsightly remains of old elevated walkways that affect the visual integrity of the Garganta del Diablo overlook and vicinity, and restore the natural riverscape;

f) develop and implement a research and monitoring strategy for the key species that were speficially listed when the site was inscribed;

6. Recommends that the State Party carry out a study to determine the technical and economical feasibility of acquiring the lands of the Argentine Peninsula Bottleneck for inclusion to the Iguazú National Park;

7. Also urges the State Party through its National World Heritage Committee to implement an early warning system to alert the World Heritage Committee in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines to any plans for the development of a hydroelectric project on the Paraná River of Argentina and Paraguay that would impact the property;

8. Requests the State Party, in consultation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, to develop a draft Statement of Outstanding Universal Value including the conditions of integrity, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 33rd session in 2009;

9. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2010, a report on the state of conservation of the property and on progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the 2008 mission, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session in 2010.